- By David Gritten and Joshua Cheetham
- BBC News
February 19, 2024, 11:29 GMT
Updated 1 hour ago
image description,
The Houthis said they targeted the Belize-flagged, British-registered cargo ship Rubymar (file photo).
The crew of a Belize-flagged, British-registered cargo ship have abandoned the ship off Yemen after it was hit by missiles from the Houthi movement.
The Rubymar was in the Gulf of Aden and approaching the Bab al-Mandab Strait when it was hit, security firms said.
A Houthi military spokesman claimed the ship had suffered “catastrophic damage” and was in danger of sinking.
The UK condemned the “reckless attack” on the Rubymar and said allied naval ships were “already on the scene”.
It is one of the most devastating attacks yet carried out by the Iran-backed Houthis and is the latest evidence that Western efforts to deter them are so far failing.
The Houthis have fired dozens of rockets and drones at merchant ships and Western warships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since mid-November, in what they say is a show of support for the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The attacks have caused many shipping companies to suspend use of the crucial waterway, which accounts for about 12% of global maritime trade.
In response, U.S. and British forces began airstrikes last month on military targets across Houthi-controlled western Yemen.
The captain reported “an explosion in the immediate vicinity of the ship causing damage” at around 11:00 p.m. local time (20:00 GMT), he added.
Early Monday, the agency quoted military authorities as saying the crew had abandoned the ship after an attack.
“The anchored ship and all crew are safe,” it said. “Military authorities remain on site to provide assistance.”
British maritime security firm Ambrey reported separately that a Belize-flagged cargo ship was attacked in the Bab al-Mandab Strait as it headed north on Sunday.
Frank Gardner and expert guests examine the crisis in the Red Sea following attacks on ships by Yemen's Houthi group.
Rubymar's security firm LSS Sapu and data provider Lloyd's List Intelligence later confirmed that the ship had been damaged by the impact of two missiles.
“We know she took on water,” an LSS-SAPU spokesman told Portal.
“There is no one left on board now,” it continued. “The owners and managers are considering towing options.”
According to MarineTraffic, which last received a tracking signal on Sunday, the Rubymar was traveling from Saudi Arabia to Bulgaria.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement Monday morning that their naval forces had fired a series of missiles at “a British ship” in the Gulf of Aden, which he identified as Rubymar.
“The ship suffered catastrophic damage and came to a complete stop,” he said, without providing evidence.
“Due to the significant damage the ship has sustained, it is now at risk of sinking in the Gulf of Aden. During the operation, we ensured that the ship’s crew exited safely.”
The 172 m long Rubymar sails under the Belize flag, her operators come from Lebanon and her registered owner is Golden Adventure Shipping based in the British port of Southampton.
The British government said current reports suggested there were no casualties in the attack.
“Nearby coalition ships are already on the scene and HMS Richmond continues to patrol the Red Sea to help protect merchant shipping,” a spokesman added.
“We have made clear that any attacks on commercial shipping are completely unacceptable and that the UK and our allies reserve the right to respond appropriately.”
Ambrey also said it was aware that two projectiles exploded on Monday near a Greek-flagged U.S. cargo ship about 100 nautical miles east of the southern Yemeni port of Aden.
“The ship and crew are reportedly safe and en route to the next port of call,” it said.
Greek shipping ministry sources told Portal that the ship was the Sea Champion, owned by New York-based MKM Chartering, and that it was transporting grain from Argentina to Aden at the time of the attack.
Mr. Sarea also said Houthi air defenses in the Red Sea province of Hudaydah shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) “while conducting hostile missions against our country on behalf of.” [Israel]”.
There was no immediate comment from the US military.
The US Central Command said its forces carried out five strikes on Saturday against three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, an unmanned underwater vessel (UUV) and an unmanned surface vessel (USV) in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, after determining that they had presented an attack that posed an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region.
It was the first time since the attacks began that U.S. forces identified a UUV, or submarine drone, used by the Houthis.
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says the discovery that the Houthis are deploying both USVs and UUVs is a worrying development. The concept of a “swarm attack” — launching a series of relatively cheap missiles and drones simultaneously at an enemy in the hopes of confusing and overwhelming its defenses — comes straight from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Navy playbook.
With Houthi attacks on ships in the lower Red Sea and the adjacent Gulf of Aden showing no signs of stopping, the prospect of such an attack targeting a U.S. or British warship is an ever-present threat to the crews are now in use there, our correspondent adds.
In another development, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels approved a mission to protect international shipping in the Red Sea. The aim is to put the operation, which will involve four ships from France, Germany, Italy and Belgium, into operation in a few weeks.